


The Puzzle Dance

by AltraViolet



Series: Face The Light [3]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, loving relationship, problem solving, slight body horror, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-12 23:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20572535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AltraViolet/pseuds/AltraViolet
Summary: Mirage and Skywarp wake up with their arms partially transformed into each other. How did it happen?? What does it mean?? Can they get apart again without injuring themselves?Companion ficlet to the “Face The Light” series, though this can be read as a stand-alone.





	The Puzzle Dance

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is meant to slot into events mentioned in “Face The Past,” but if you aren't inclined to read that, here's the tl;dr- pre-war IDW Gen 1 AU in which Mirage and Skywarp met at the Jhiaxian Academy and fell in love. At this point, they have a little place of their own. Mirage is doing freelance spy work and Skywarp hauls freight for the Academy, though they struggle financially. 
> 
> The Puzzle Dance is touched on in “Face The Past” (though not by name). It's an idea I've had _forever_ and that I'm excited to fic-blab about. This is a little expansion on how they developed it =)
> 
> Slight warning for being overindulgently OTP-y and written in a few hours.

Mirage nodded awake in his favorite place- Skywarp's arms. He didn't online his optics yet. He wanted to enjoy the warmth of his lover, the way Skywarp stroked his back, the way his beloved's field hummed with contentment, slowly ratcheting up to a high-pitched concern-

Wait, that wasn't right.

Mirage opened his eyes, giving Skywarp a questioning look. Skywarp was staring at him, grimacing. Before he could say anything, Skywarp said softly, “don't move.”

Well, how could he _not_ do a thing that came so naturally, especially right after he was told not to?

“Wha-” Mirage shifted, concern mounting as Skywarp's field took on a panicked edge. His processor automatically sent out a full-frame scan.

“No! No, just hold still-”

Mirage glanced to the side just as the frame scan came in. **Transformation anomaly: right forearm. Cause: unknown. Blockage detected.** Mirage froze, staring open mouthed at his forearm, which was partially transformed _into Skywarp's upper arm._

“D- don't snap it back,” said Skywarp. “Some of your metal is around one of my major lines.”

It took every ounce of self control for Mirage to not transform his forearm back to normal. His plating twitched. Skywarp flinched. Shaking, Mirage initiated a command. “I've sent a transformation lock to my arm,” said Mirage. Skywarp nodded, eyes wide.

Mirage stared at their arms, taking a moment to collect himself.

Everything had been fine the night before. They'd had a delicious dinner, delighted in each other, and collapsed exhausted and happy together, falling into recharge as usual.

Mirage's arm had naturally found its position, laid along Skywarp's upper arm, in their nestling. And, during the night, something had _happened._

Mirage ignored the tumbling of Skywarp's spark under his chest, willing it not to send his own into a panicked spin. He pushed Skywarp's powerful field away as best he could.

His hand was on Skywarp's shoulder. It was normal. But his forearm below that... his white plating had pulled away and partially transformed open, some of his internal cables and metal structures plunging into Skywarp's upper arm, which suffered the same affliction. His black plating had likewise opened and slatted itself between Mirage's in places. His internal structures, thicker and larger, had moved less, were more intertwined by Mirage's parts than doing the intertwining themselves. Biolights, reddish-purple and red, glowed in the depths of their arms. And Skywarp had been right. Some of Mirage's plating was cinched around one of his major lines. If Mirage carelessly transformed his arm back, it would slice the vessel right open.

Without undoing his transformation lock, Mirage sent a ping to the area. There was no pain, no malformed parts or damage.

It was as if their arms had just decided to engulf each other for no particular reason.

Skywarp's panicked field was getting harder to ignore. His eyes flashed. “What is it!” he blurted out.

Mirage steadied himself. He was often the more composed of the two. He reached out his other hand and touched Skywarp's face. “There's no pain or damage,” he said softly. “I don't know what caused it. But don't panic. Let's think through this.” He pushed his field out as hard as he could with calmness.

Skywarp nodded.

“Did you send a transformation lock to your arm?”

“Yeah,” said Skywarp. “As soon as I woke up.”

“Okay. So for the moment, we're in a holding pattern. We are safe. Neither of us will move until we figure out what's going on.”

Skywarp nodded. 

Mirage stroked his cheek. “It will be alright, beloved. Imagine all the mechs you'd be loathed to be intertwined with right now.”

Beneath the panic, there was a smile. Skywarp snorted. “Hah, yeah. I'm glad it's you.”

“As am I.” Mirage smiled back. “Do you think it was something we ate last night?”

Skywarp's panic dulled as he thought back. “I dunno.”

“We've eaten at that place before.”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.” Mirage studied their plating. There were no new transformation seams, just old ones used in unusual ways. “You don't suppose it has something to do with our abilities, perhaps?”

Skywarp's optical arches furrowed. “I don't think so. I don't wanna test mine.”

“Right. You might jostle something. I'll try mine for a moment.” Mirage went invisible. They both looked at the inner workings of Skywarp's arm, so curiously twisted, obviously being deformed in space by something invisible. Mirage returned to visibility. “I didn't feel or detect anything different.”

“Me either.”

“Hmm.” Mirage laid his helm on Skywarp's chest, studying their arms. Skywarp's field was under control now, his spark turning more calmly. “Did we do anything unusual last night?”

Skywarp stroked his wheel axel in response.

Mirage shivered, little lustful bursts of the night before sizzling through his lines. “Besides that?”

“Uh... we did the spark thing. We don't always do that.”

“No...” Mirage nuzzled Skywarp's chest. His plating was clean. Mirage had seen to that. The memory of the spark baring warmed him, pushing any last remnants of fear away. Mirage reveled in the memory, the joy of becoming one with his beloved, before recognizing the change in his own emotions. “Are you still afraid?”

“Not at all,” said Skywarp. His field flashed with ironic bravado. 

Mirage laughed quietly. He sent another ping to his arm. It was unchanged since the last. “It's quite the puzzle.”

“Yeah.”

Something clicked in Mirage's processor: a vision of an ancient dance as described in the romantic plays he adored. “Puzzle dance,” he whispered.

“What?”

The full realization of what it meant came to Mirage. His eyes brightened. “A puzzle dance!”

“A _what?”_

“Mechs so in tune with each other, they can puzzle their bodies together! Partially transformed!”

Skywarp squinted at him. “Is this some kinda cult thing?”

“No!” Mirage almost sat up, almost forgot his arm was locked. “No, it's from the ancient plays and performances!”

Skywarp stared at him. “...and?”

“Don't you see what this means?” Mirage grinned.

“No??”

“We're so in tune with each other, we tried to puzzle together while sleeping!”

“What?”

Mirage's grin turned dreamy. “Such a romantic thought! Our frames striving to be one, after our sparks had the pleasure of doing so!”

“Uh...”

Mirage kissed his chest. “Oh, _beloved!”_ Happiness burst through his field. He wiggled, intertwining the fingers of his free hand with Skywarp's. His joyful words melted from Neocybex to Ancient Cybertronian, like they often did when discussing poetic, romantic matters. “I am so delighted _that Primus saw fit to fit me with you, my lover, my partner, my beloved!”_

Skywarp smiled as Mirage quoted some ancient play at him. He caught bits of “perfect partner,” “destined beloved,” and of course the omnipresent, “til we are one.”

“That's all really great,” said Skywarp, biolights blinking as Mirage gave him a heated kiss. “But what are we gonna do about our arms?”

“Oh- yes.” Mirage's dreamy joy was swept away by a keen determination. “Hmm.” He tried to wiggle his fingers. They didn't move, still under the effects of the transformation lock. “I suppose we'll have to very slowly transform ourselves out of this. If we got into it while sleeping, surely we can undo it while awake?”

Skywarp looked at him doubtfully.

“I believe _I_ am more clever awake than not,” said Mirage. “It is a puzzle, after all.” He studied their intertwined arms again, noting the most deeply entwined parts. “I believe I can modify my transformation lock part by part, so things don't snap together all at once.”

A little scared jump in Skywarp's field told him Skywarp didn't believe him.

“I'll test it out with my other hand, first,” said Mirage. He partially transformed it apart, then before it could finish, snapped the transformation lock on. He held up his hand, strange, mangled to his own eyes. “Oh, that is a bit horrid, isn't it.”

“Y- yeah.” Skywarp glanced away.

“No matter. I am in control.” Mirage concentrated, then undid the transformation lock bit by bit. His fingers and palm parts jolted, moving like stop motion, flipping and turning around each other slowly, until his hand was whole again. “There!” He held his hand up, beaming.

Skywarp kissed it.

“Thank you, beloved,” said Mirage, smiling. “Now...” he turned to their arms. “I shall move as much of myself away as I can. You stay still.”

Skywarp nodded.

Mirage concentrated. He counted out 17 transformed parts and mentally assigned them different colors. He had enough processor power to spare two red markers for the parts of his forearm that threatened Skywarp's major line. “I wish I had a scene reenactment mod,” he muttered. He knew there were mechs in law enforcement who could look at the shattered remnants of a window and reconstruct them without difficulty. Alas, he would have to work with what he had come to be with. 

He moved the colored parts experimentally in his processor, seeing how they fit around each other. His frame shook slightly as the parts shifted in perspective in three dimensional space before his eyes. “I'm quite unsuited for this,” he said, gritting his teeth.

Skywarp squeezed his hand in response.

Mirage ran the sequence through a few times, noting where pieces clipped into each other. He went through it again, rotating parts at angles he knew he could physically perform. When he finally was satisfied with the transformation sequence, he pulled back a panel on the side of his helm.

Skywarp raised his optical arches.

“You have placement software, right?” asked Mirage. Skywarp blinked. “From your warehouse work?”

“Oh. Yeah. Stack-And-Pack. It calculates the most efficient way to organize cargo in limited space.”

“Right.” Mirage pulled a wire from his helm. “I want you to run my sequence. Double check it for clipping.”

“Uh.” Skywarp pulled aside a panel on his helm. “Okay. I dunno if it'll work good for weird-shaped shapes.”

“Try it anyway,” said Mirage. He plugged in to Skywarp. “I want you to see what I'm doing so it doesn't startle you when I do it.”

“Oh. Good idea.” Skywarp's eyes flashed as he accepted the data from Mirage's processor. He squinted. After a moment, he said, “I think it's okay... Stack-And-Pack is struggling cuz we don't have any cargo shaped like your arm, heh.”

“That's probably a good thing,” said Mirage wryly. He dropped a few of his firewalls and gently nudged Skywarp's processor with another data line. “I want you to feel this on my side.”

“O- okay.” Skywarp's eyes flashed again. “Got it.”

Mirage's processor hummed. “I shall have a headache later from this, I'm certain.”

Skywarp frowned and touched his helm.

Mirage ran the unlock program a few more times, sent it to Skywarp, and made him run it twice more.

“I think it's fine,” said Skywarp. “We just gotta do it.”

“Alright.” Mirage took a calming breath. “Here we go, beloved. I love you.”

Skywarp smiled. “Love you, too.”

“Our most dangerous adventure yet, and we have not even moved from this spot.”

“Heh.” Skywarp placed a comforting hand on Mirage's back. “Just do it. If anything happens I'll warp us to a hospital and we'll deal with the fallout later.”

Mirage's mouth twisted. He had worked very hard to keep their connection a secret. Arriving melded together at a hospital was bound to echo through the networks he traveled. He was not at all keen on that.

There were some people out there who would probably be very happy to learn he had a beloved... a beloved was, in his business, a weakness, a leverage point-

Mirage pushed that thought away. “Initiating now.”

Both mechs turned their helms to watch. Mirage grit his teeth and sent the first step of the unlock sequence. His outermost piece of plating jerked. Both he and Skywarp froze. 

“It's okay,” said Skywarp shakily. A little undercurrent of panic came through his field. “Keep going.”

Mirage pushed his field away as best he could. He sent the first step again.

The plating jerked a bit, then its movement smoothed out. It swung upwards. Mirage relocked that piece in place. He let his wheels spin a bit, he had been clenching his brakes to them subconsciously. 

Skywarp gave him a thumb's up and a forced smile.

Mirage redoubled his concentration efforts and sent the second unlock sequence.

The next-outermost piece swung upwards with a less jerky motion than the first. Mirage locked it into place. He sent the third sequence.

Slowly, a large piece of paneling and a set of cording, which Mirage had coupled together in the program due to their arrangement, moved up and transformed perpendicularly to themselves.

“It's working!” A wave of pride went through Skywarp's field.

Mirage indulged in a little smile but didn't look at his beloved's face. He knew the grin he would see there. He'd lose himself in it. Instead, he sent the fourth unlock sequence.

Another piece of paneling, this one with red biolights that swirled slowly, swung up. Its far end came to a sharp point, one of the pieces that had endangered Skywarp's line. Both mechs vented with relief as it halted in the air above their intertwined arms.

Mirage continued, slowly, unlocking and swinging up pieces one by one. Once the seventeenth piece had swung up, he gently unplugged their link and pushed himself away from Skywarp and off the bed. He stepped back, although the distance was unnecessary. With a series of transformation sounds, his forearm zipped back together. He rotated it, making a fist, bending his elbow. “Everything's operating properly.”

At that, Skywarp removed the transformation lock on his arm. His innermost workings dove deep and his black plating settled over them. He rotated his arm, the wariness in his field fading. “You did it!”

_“We_ did it,” corrected Mirage.

Skywarp sprang up from the berth to hug him. Mirage stepped back. Skywarp sent a wordless questioning through his field.

“What if... what if we intertwine again?” asked Mirage. He looked uncertainly at their arms. Then their chests. “Oh, beloved. How much trouble would we be in if our chests intermingled? Oh! What if our _spark chambers_ interlocked?!”

Skywarp's eyes got a distant look. “I think the spark overload would be great.”

“For the first few hours, til we blitzed through all our energon.” Mirage frowned at the distance between them. “I cannot live without touching you, beloved.”

“Same.”

“Then... then...”

Before he could say anything else, Skywarp sprang forward and grabbed him. “Then we learn to get real good at puzzles.” He grinned and picked Mirage up and kissed him.

“Mmm...” Mirage melted into the kiss. When they at last pulled apart, he smiled. “Very well, then. I shall have quite the headache, programming our separations.” He rubbed his helm.

“Oh.” Skywarp set him down and stepped back a pace.

VOP!!

Mirage shook his head. After thousands of years with the mech, the sudden teleportation didn't startle him. Though he never knew exactly what Skywarp was thinking when he did such things. Mirage sat on the bed, waiting for his return. A few minutes later, white and purple light flashed through the room.

VOP!!

Skywarp appeared with a grin and a couple of drinks. Mirage raised an ocular arch but didn't say anything. He knew there was nothing in Skywarp's bank account. He took the drink. “Thank you.”

Skywarp clinked their glasses together. They were branded “Maccadam's.” The energon within smelled strongly of a local recipe rumored to ward off hangovers.

They downed their drinks. Skywarp made an overemphasized “ahh!” sound. Mirage grimaced. It was not a tasty drink.

“So, I been wonderin',” said Skywarp, taking Mirage's hand. He kissed it. 

“Yes?”

“You said there was puzzle dances, right?”

“Yes.”

“So... so that means mechs can... they can _dance_ with their parts kinda inside each other, like we just were?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think we could do that?”

Mirage blinked. The idea was ridiculous. To what end? But he'd known Skywarp long enough to know that his ludicrous ideas had their own internal logic. “Why do you ask?”

Skywarp pulled a datasheet from subspace. It was a partner dance submission form for a light club called _The Blue Pyramid._ They'd partially filled it out with their performing pseudonyms, dance style, and music chip. “Cuz we didn't finish this yet, and what if we did a puzzle dance at the club?”

Mirage's field flashed with surprise. “No one's ever done that before at the clubs.”

“Yeah! And new ideas always pull in the shanix.”

“Yes...” Mirage took the datasheet from him. He traced the club's logo with a finger. “I think we'll have to be very, very careful. And practice quite a bit.”

“Yeah!”

“But until the other dance teams figure out how to do it, we'll have the monopoly on the style.”

“Yeah!”

Mirage smiled. “Beloved, you are so very clever.”

“And _you_ are so very hot.”

Mirage rolled his eyes but his smile remained.


End file.
